Zootopia: Contained By Collars
by Sweetnlow10
Summary: In a world where all predators are forced to wear shock collars, Nick and Judy try and solve the missing mammal case. Includes elements from deleted Zootopia concept footage.
1. Chapter 1

**The original story of Zootopia always interested me. All of the predators were forced to wear shock collars that shocked them when they became too angry or emotional. The racial element would be very prominent on this side of the story.**

 **This is my take on it.**

 **I should be updating this twice a week or so. Enjoy.**

•••

 **Zootopia : Confined By Collars**

 **Chapter I**

' **First Encounter'**

•••

 **Museum Of Natural History, Zootopia**

"Thousands of years ago, the world was a different place. A place where-"

"Everybody was naked!" A leopard from the back of the group interrupted, attempting to get a few laughs out of others.

"Joseph, be quiet!" The museum guide said.

"Yes, ma'am."

The guide continued. "Mammals were divided into two groups. Predators with the sharp teeth,"

All of the predators ran their tongues along their teeth.

"...and prey, with the flat teeth!"

All of the prey ran their tongues along their teeth.

"And why weren't we friends? Hmmm...Finnick?" She asked.

"Cuz...we...wouldn't share?" He suggested.

"Close!" the guide exclaimed, "Because predators would eat us!"

The guide moved past the huddled group of predators to click a button on the side of a screen, which displayed a few lions hanging on the side of an ancient giraffe's neck. The image caused the entire crowd of children, including the predators, to exclaim "Ewww!" In disgust.

She stepped in front of everyone once more, turning off the screen that was fairly graphic for mammals of that age. "No one's eaten anyone in thousands of years, but just to be extra safe, we have...the tame collar!" She motioned her hand and arm towards a collar held up by a skinny, shiny pole, all enclosed inside a glass cylinder. A brave looking lion magically formed around the collar, which was quite impressive for the school kids, who stood there in awe.

She went on to explain its purpose, as she moved over to a second screen. "If a predator gets agitated," a zebra in the video walked by a lion, and proceeded to clumsily spill his coffee on him. "the tame collar reminds them to be good." The collar delivered a shock into the lion, causing his mane to become fuzzy. He smiled and shook his paw with the zebra's hoof, as if nothing had ever happened. That's how it was supposed to work, in theory.

"So now all mammals can be together!" the guide said, grouping the predators and the prey together.

Both Nick and Finnick remained in front of everyone, still smiling.

But, deep down, Nick knew that collars weren't meant to bring the predators and prey together. They were meant to contain them.

•••

 **21 Years Later**

 **After The Events At Jumbeaux's Cafe**

Nick was still carrying the massive jumbo pop through the lightly crowded sidewalks when a van pulled up beside them on the road.

The window rolled down to reveal a leopard, who had a smile on his face. That jumbo pop looked extra good in the heat of summer.

"Atta boy Wilde!" the leopard cheered.

"You know me enough Joseph. I'm still pretty awesome at hustling! I even hustled that new bunny cop." Nick said.

"Ha, that's pretty sweet dude. You have been a great hustler since you were twelve!"

Meanwhile, Finnick was fidgeting on the inside of his cheesy looking elephant suit. He was about ready to rip it off.

"GAH!" Finnick shouted in anger, startling Nick, who almost dropped the jumbo pop. All three were surprised that Finnick's collar hadn't given him a shock yet. He always needed to vent after wearing the suit.

"Finnick, chill for like three more minutes! We're almost done for a couple hours!" Warned Nick.

Finnick responded with a hard punch to his arm, Joseph smiling at the Finnick's inevitable angry rant, which were usually followed by a shock to the neck.

" _That's_ for making me the baby! I'm a grown mammal, Finnick fox! It is degrading to my entire species!" He declared, rather loudly.

"Relax, you're gonna buzz yourself." Nick warned once more.

Finnick proceeded to rip the elephant suit off of his small body. "I AM IN A DIAPER- AH!" He groaned in pain from the shock of the collar. He stumbled and fell on the pavement.

Nick chuckled, and looked up at Joseph, who was now hyperventilating because of excessive laughter. He thought it was comedy gold whenever Finnick was in the middle of his usually explicit rants, and the collar shut him down at the perfect time.

Joseph helped Nick carry the jumbo pop into the back of the van, and set it inside of a plastic tub to keep any excess melting ice cream from getting on the floor of the van. By then Finnick picked himself off of the sidewalk and slumped his way into the passenger seat of the van.

•••

 **The Next Day**

Nick was casually walking down the sidewalk, with Finnick in the baby stroller, still sporting the elephant suit. That cheap halloween costume had become famous among the world of hustling, and even more so among his friends.

The day was going according to plan, until a familiar bunny in a very small car pulled up beside him.

"Hi! Hey, it's me again!"

"Hey, it's Officer Toot Toot!" Nick teased.

She let out a dull, sarcastic laugh. "Don't call me that. I'm here to ask you some questions about a case!" She said, holding up the picture of Mr. Otterton along with her carrot pen.

"Then they should've gotten a real cop to solv- AH!"

 **(This is where the story deviates from the events of the movie)**

Nick's collar buzzed, and his paws flew up to his neck, as if that would make it any better.

"What was that for?! I have to get to work." Nick yelped, noticing other mammals walking past them.

"I think your _ten_ dollars worth of popsicles can wait." She said, matter-of-factly.

Nick's ears raised in defense, eager to prove her wrong. "Ha! I make two hundred bucks a _day_ fluff! Three hundred and sixty five days a year, since I was _twelve._ And time is money. Hop alon-AH!"

Nick yelped in pain once more as she revealed a small black remote, which caused him to growl in anger.

"Stop _shocking_ me! What am I doing wrong?!" Nick pleaded.

Judy, ignoring the question, said, "Can you please look at the picture? You sold Mr. Otterton here a pawpsicle. Right? Do you know him?"

Keeping his anger contained, Nick said "I know everybody. And I also know that somewhere there's a toy stor-AH! _Stop, rabbit!"_

"Nicholas Wilde, you are under arrest."

"For what, hewrting the fweewings?" He said in a childish tone.

"Felony tax evasion."

 _Crap._

Officer Hopps proceed to pull out his tax form, and repeat what he had said about his income with that _stupid_ carrot pen.

"Look. You can either help me, or the only place you'd be selling pawpsicles is the prison cafeteria. It's called a hustle, sweetheart.

"Fine. Yes. I sold Mr. Otterton a pawpsicle. Can you _not_ shock me?"

"Do you know where he went?"

Despite the misuse of his collar and his boiling anger, a smile managed to make its way onto Nick's face. "It's not exactly a place for a cute little bunny like you."

"You know what? That's it. Hands behind your back."

"Wait, _what?_ Stop, I'll help you! _"_ Nick said, backing up from the rapidly approaching bunny.

Surprisingly enough, she complied, and Nick told her where Mr. Otterton went. She motioned towards her little rabbit sized car, hardly large enough to fit both a fox and a rabbit.

 **After The Events At The DMV**

"Wait. It's _night?_ Nick! You did this on purpose! You just want me to fail!" Judy blamed.

"That's not true Officer! Where else would we go other than here?" Nick said, rather sarcastically.

"You just want to see me fail because you don't see me as more than a bunny! Because if I succeeded, you would have to see yourself as more than a fox!"

Nick bent down with his paws on his knees, exactly how he did when she got stuck in the concrete, and looked looked in her purple eyes. "If the world will only see me as a clever, shifty fox, then why try and be anything else? I'm exactly who you think I am. Not that these collars let us do much anyway."

Nick knew that Judy was right. Judy also knew that Nick was right.

But they had to go to Tundra Town.

They were going to find Mr. Otterton, even if it was the last thing she did.

•••


	2. Chapter 2

**A few things before I start:**

 **This version of the story won't be constrained to 48hrs. It allows for interesting plot opportunities, and more Nick.**

 **Keep in mind Nick is a developing character, in writing and in the film. At the beginning, he was more of a, 'I'm exactly who you think I am. A shifty, clever fox.' kinda guy, and changed into a 'Don't let them see that they get to you' kinda guy. He may not be exactly the same Nick we all know and love at the end, because it's a different take on the story. In my defense, the directors of the movie even said so in the deleted scenes section.**

 **The video was copyright striked like 15 minutes after viewing it (no kidding) but there are other videos on YT you can watch.**

 **Worry not, Suitopia** _ **and**_ **Wilde Times will eventually make its way into this story. Just you wait!**

 **I think that's it.**

 _Whispers: *Flashbacks!*_

 **Zootopia: Contained By Collars**

 **Chapter 2**

' **Limousine'**

•••

The ride to Tundra Town Limo Service wasn't the smoothest it could be. The non-existent suspension in the rabbit sized car did _not_ make the experience any better.

The boring drive, combined with the dull droning of the tires against the cold pavement, was the perfect concoction for deep thinking. Nick drifted into the rivers of his own mind…

 **22 Years Ago, Zootopia National Bank**

 _Nick and his dad cracked open the door to the office. It was very spacious. Maybe because the mammal they needed a loan from was a deer, but still._

 _They were both dressed in very nice, matching suits. Nick's dad carried a box in his paws, which might be the key their future jobs. That small diorama of Suitopia could be the thing they needed to finally get the loan._

 _Nick's dad approached the banker's desk, and took a deep breath. They had rehearsed this over and over to mom, friends, and random preds on the street. They had only nailed the presentation yesterday, but the brave combo thought they were ready._

•••

 _The presentation went very smoothly, and exactly as planned. Nick and his his dad stood there, anxiously waiting for her to pull out the stamp that would decide their fate._

 _Accept…? Or reject…_

 _The deer, despite having an emotionless look on her face, was appearing to have trouble deciding. Nick was being optimistic. The Suitopia pitch was truly great. It was clever, well thought out, and completely unbiased towards prey or predators. It went well with the city ideals._

 _The doe made a move for the stamp. Maybe it was a 'stuck in the headlights' situation. They were both predators, and she was a deer after all._

 _Calmly, she lifted the stamp, and pushed it down on the paper. It said…_

Rejected.

 _Nick's ears fell down in devastation. So much preparation, so many great ideas! All for nothing._

 _Hmm. Maybe another bank…_

" _Nick."_

 _No response._

" _Nick!"_

 _Don't respond._

" _NICK!"_

Nick realized with a startled jump that it wasn't the flashback that was shouting at him, but it was Judy.

"Nick. We're here." Judy asked

"Y-yeah, yeah, ok. Let's go." Nick responded, the bad memory still fresh.

The two hopped out of the car, and onto the cold pavement and white snow of Tundra Town. Nick could see that the chain fence gate to the property was closed with his great eyesight, but Judy still tugged on the ice covered lock for good measure. She took a step back and sighed in disappointment.

Nick slapped a fake smirk on his face before Judy could turn around and see his saddened expression.

"Hmm… Looks like it's locked. And lemme guess, you need a warrant? Nick teased. "Bummer."

Much to Nick's surprise, Judy had a grin on her face. Casually crossing her short grey arms, Judy snapped back, "You don't need a warrant if you have probable cause. Besides…I think you could be of use lock-picking that car, yes?"

The light on Nick's collar turned yellow from green, sensing his anger, and warning him about the impending shock. Judy didn't need to see his collar to sense his frustration. "Oh, so you assume that foxes can do everything bad, huh? Are all foxes like that?" He spat, arms crossed.

Judy shifted her weight on one leg, causing her hip to poke out. "You're a con-mammal. A criminal. Don't tell me you don't know how to hop a fence and pick a lock."

Nick squinted his eyes at Judy, and huffed in defeat. "You're in luck. Carrots."

Judy then returned a smile with her small victory. "Good."

The two small mammals climbed the fence, Nick pausing at the top to help Judy up. Thankfully, rabbits had strong legs in proportion to their weight, so she was able to jump up and grab Nick's paws to avoid any excess sound for the most part.

Nick and Judy landed in the snow with a quiet thud. Nick gritted his teeth - even through his fur, it was freezing cold.

They both began to scour the frozen parking lot, checking and double checking each ice covered licence plate. They just couldn't seem to find the car.

After a couple minutes of searching, Judy managed to find it tucked up in a dark corner next to the building, presumably owned by polar bears. The limo was their species' size after all.

"29…THD…03! Yep, this is the one!" Judy said.

Nick trotted to the back of the lot to where the car was. He pulled on the car handle to make sure it was locked, his breath moistening the car door. "If you have a fur pin Officer, I'm gonna need that."

She managed to find one deep in her uniform pocket, buried beneath the things they might actually need later on. She reluctantly handed him the pin, which he took, unfolded, and started to work on the door lock. This lock was definitely more complicated than others he had…practiced on. It was definitely aftermarket, installed for the purpose of keeping lockpickers and thieves out.

Nick worked on the cold lock for several minutes, moving the pin left and right, up and down, until he heard the pin slide in.

Nick let out a big toothy grin of success. "Haha! Got it! That was _the_ most complicated-"

" _Shhhhhhh!_ " Judy ordered, a finger placed over her mouth.

Nick gave her a sarcastic thumbs up, and easily opened the driver's door to the car. The inside of the car was nice, white leather covering everything imaginable. The buttons on the wood covered center console were even lined with hints of silver.

The duo jumped in and began their search for any clues. They checked everything. Under the seats, in the glovebox (Nick still got Judy with that one), and finally it came time to check the back seats.

One word could describe the state of the back seats: _Ruined._

They were covered with claw marks, from the seat to the headrest. They were _everywhere_. Whoever caused this - whatever caused this -was _very_ angry…or savage.

Nick's eyes widened at his new discovery. "Carrots? If your otter was here he had a very bad day." Nick hesitantly crawled through the small window to get inside of the back cabin. The floor was mostly bare, and covered by a thin layer of mist, except for a wallet.

With Mr. Ottertons identity inside.

Judy joined Nick and got down on all fours to avoid being seen. Not that an animal as small as her could be seen. She slowly crept her way towards the wallet, and quickly inspected it before attaching it to her bunny sized utility belt.

Nick was busy investigating other things, one of which was a small glass with a fancy ' _ **B**_ ' inscribed on the side.

Adrenaline flooded Nick's system as he realized whose car it was.

But it was too late.

The angry, massive paws of two polar bears had already rendered them immobile.

•••


End file.
